Relief pitcher Grant Holman just had one of the weirdest big league debuts you will ever see, managing to notch a 0.00 ERA while *seven* batters crossed home plate on his watch. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. It happened in September for the Phillies, and it’s a wild ride through a season on the waiver wire.
From Waivers to the Wildest Debut
Holman’s 2026 season was a full-blown baseball odyssey. He started with the A’s, where he’d pitched 40 combined games over the past two seasons. But in February, they put him on waivers. The Diamondbacks grabbed him, then dropped him when he couldn’t crack their major league roster. Off to waivers again, and this time the Dodgers picked him up. He lasted ten days before heading back to the wire. Next stop, the Tigers, where he played three minor league games before, you guessed it, waivers again. Finally, the Phillies claimed him on May 7th, sending him to Lehigh Valley. Talk about a frequent flyer program!
Here’s the kicker: after all that movement, Holman started absolutely dealing in AAA. From the All-Star Break on, he was one of the best relievers in the minors for Lehigh Valley. We’re talking 13 games, 17.1 innings, giving up only 8 hits and 2 earned runs. His ERA was a minuscule 1.04, with an insane 0.57 WHIP, and he was rocking a 70% strike rate. Pretty solid, right?
The Seven-Run, Zero-Earned, Negative WAR Performance
So, with that minor league dominance, the Phillies called him up in September. His big league debut came when Jesus Luzardo was scratched, forcing a bullpen game. It didn’t go well, even if the stat sheet tries to trick you. Holman faced seven batters. Four of them got hits, one walked, and another reached on an error. Plus, he allowed a stolen base and threw a wild pitch before finally getting the third out. The craziest part? Seven runners scored while he was in the game, yet *none* of those runs were earned runs charged to him. His final line for the Phillies was 1 game, 0.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 K, 1 BB. Yet somehow, this guy still managed to rack up -0.5 wins above replacement. Only in baseball, man. Later in the month, he was supposed to be recalled as an injury replacement, but the Phillies decided against it, sending Kyle Backhus up instead.
What’s Next for This Waiver Wire Warrior?
Looking ahead, it feels like a sure bet Holman will be dropped from the Phillies’ 40-man roster and hit the waiver wire again. He’s only 26, so some team is definitely going to offer him a minor league invite to camp. It could even be the Phillies if they liked what they saw from his AAA performance, despite that bonkers major league outing. Will he ever stick somewhere? His journey has been wild, but that AAA second half was no joke. We’ll be watching to see where he lands next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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